Sir Cliff Richard “Retiring is not in my vocabulary!”

At 81, Sir Cliff Richard has a lifetime of musical hits, film roles and more to reflect on. And he has no plans to stop making them any time soon.

- TIFFANY DUNK

When he was 12 years old, Sir Cliff Richard – then known as Harry Webb – sent a letter to a pen-pal he’d made in Australia. “My ambition is to be a famous singer,” he wrote. Decades later that same pen-pal gave him a copy during his first tour of Australia. “I don’t remember at that early age wanting to sing,” he tells The Weekly, “but there it was in black and white. So perhaps I did have that feeling! It wasn’t until I was about 15, I think, when I first heard Elvis that the desire grew into something that really overtook me. And I’m very happy that it did!”

As he releases a DVD version of his recent The Great 80 Tour which was filmed at the Royal Albert Hall, Sir Cliff reflects on his music, his fans, his faith and his dear friend, Olivia.

Can you give us a snapshot of your life before music?

I got to England just in time for my eighth birthday [from India, where he’d been raised]. I can remember I first went to school in a place called Carshalton, in Surrey. My grandmother said she would put us up for a while, and she did. Of course for that while, possibly a year or so, I got bullied a bit, but I learned how to fight – it’s interesting how you learn to survive.

When did you first realise that you had made the leap to fame?

I realised that we’d made a pretty good start when, at the age of 17, I found myself in Studio Two at Abbey Road recording a song. It’s at that moment that I felt “wow”. It wasn’t that we’d made it, but we had every chance of making it. I think the precise moment I knew was when that song – Move It – got to #2 in the British charts.

How did your life change from that point?